The first leg of the eighth final of the Europa League between Manchester United and AC Milan has not resulted in a winner. Manchester United were heading for a minimal victory for 91 minutes, after substitute Amad Diallo with his first goal in the service of the Red Devils had opened the score. However, due to a striking header from Simon Kjaer in injury time, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. The return of the diptych in San Siro will follow in a week.
The meeting between the number two in the Premier League and the number two in the Serie A was without a doubt the most eye-catching poster in the eighth final of the Europa League. The draw often zoomed in on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s reunion with his former club Manchester United – where he played between 2016 and 2018 – but the Swedish striker was missing due to an upper injury at AC Milan. Donny van de Beek was also present at Manchester United, because he is still injured.
Within twelve minutes, AC Milan already had the ball in the net twice, but there was still a 0-0 score on the scoreboard. Rafael Leão scored very quickly, but saw his goal canceled due to offside. Franck Kessié also had the perfect ball early in the game against the ropes. His goal was rejected by referee Slavko Vincic from Slovenia after interference from the VAR because the Ivorian midfielder had touched the ball with his hand. In the initial phase, AC Milan clearly had the initiative and also fired on the goal of Dean Henderson via Rade Krunic.
In the initial phase, Manchester United only faced a shot by Anthony Martial turned by Gianluigi Donnarumma, although the home team had the greatest chance of the first half by far. A corner from Daniel James was headed by Bruno Fernandes, after which Harry Maguire appeared at the far post. The center-back and captain of Manchester United had the ball in front of an open goal before shooting, but managed to not get the ball into the goal via the post.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer intervened at half-time by bringing eighteen-year-old Amad Diallo in for Anthony Martial and the attacker who came from Atalanta in January broke open the match early in the second half. The passed Diallo headed a measured pass from Fernandes with a bow over Donnarumma. The first opportunity for AC Milan in the second half came when Kessié showed up in the penalty area, but his bet was turned by Henderson. With more than an hour on the clock, the visitors were closer, when a header from Krunic just flew past the intersection.
James failed to double the margin, triggering another exciting final phase. For example, AC Milan got a free kick in an attractive place, but Krunic shot the ball into the wall. Despite an attractive final phase, there seemed to be no change in the 1-0 score, until Kjaer headed the equalizer against the ropes in injury time. As a result, the score is the same when Manchester United travels to Italy next week for the return of the diptych.